Social Key Question Flashcards
(11 cards)
What is our social key question?
How can we use social psychology to explain cult behaviour?
What are Cults?
Socially deviant groups that follow the beliefs of one strong, living leader who typically has divine connotations. They make absolute claims about the leader.
What are problems with cult members?
Cult members are often financially dependent on their leader, isolating themselves from the outside world and moving away from their family to dedicate themselves to the cult.
Why are cults a problem?
They can cause serious offenses as a result of proving their dedication to the leader.
The Manson Family who killed Sharon Tate on behalf of Charles Manson, and the People’s temple who committed mass suicide.
Why is this a key issue?
There are still over 500 active cults in the UK. If we can learn what causes them/why they happen, we may be able to prevent them or prevent people from joining.
how can agency theory explain cult behaviour?
The cult members are in the agentic state and blindly obeying the authority figure such as the Manson Family killing due to high perceived authority.
how can social impact theory explain cult behaviour?
Strength - the authority figure has divine links - high strength
Immediacy - all cult members live together
Number - all cult members live together, the more that obey, the more likely they are to obey themselves.
how can social identity theory explain cult behaviour?
the cult is the ‘in group’ and all others are the out group.
They typically dress, act and believe the same way.
Out group denigration - cult in China that killed a woman they believed was the devil.
Supporting evidence for Agency theory?
Milgram and his variations.
Supporting evidence for Social Identity theory?
Sherif
Conflicting evidence for cults?
Saliba (1985) 90% of the unification church members dropped out before the end of the training programme.
